🇮🇹 Italian · Pasta
🍝 Cannelloni
Cannelloni al Forno
Cannelloni are large pasta tubes stuffed with a savory meat or spinach-ricotta filling, blanketed in béchamel and tomato sauce, then baked until bubbling and golden.
Whether rolled from fresh pasta sheets or filled dried tubes, cannelloni is a special-occasion baked pasta dish, its name meaning 'large reeds' or 'canes' for the tube shape each piece is rolled or stuffed into.
Ingredients
Equipment: Large skillet, Mixing bowl, Piping bag or spoon, Baking dish
- 12 fresh pasta sheets (or 12 dried cannelloni tubes)
Filling
- 400 g (14 oz) ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 250 g (1 cup) ricotta
- 80 g (1 cup) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Sauce and topping
- 500 g (18 oz) tomato passata or crushed tomatoes
- 1 batch béchamel (as in ITA030, half quantity)
- 80 g (1 cup) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for topping
Method
- Cook the ground beef with the onion and garlic in a skillet over medium heat until browned and cooked through, about 8–10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and let cool slightly.
- Mix the cooked beef with the ricotta, half the Parmigiano, and the egg until well combined.
- If using fresh pasta sheets, cut into rectangles about 10x15cm and blanch briefly in boiling water until just pliable, about 1 minute. If using dried tubes, no pre-cooking is needed.
- Fill a piping bag (or use a spoon) with the meat-ricotta mixture and pipe or stuff into the pasta tubes or roll into the fresh sheets.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on the base of a baking dish.
- Arrange the filled cannelloni in a single layer over the sauce.
- Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the top, followed by the béchamel, and scatter with the remaining Parmigiano.
- Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake a further 15–20 minutes until golden and bubbling.
- Rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Chef Tips
- A piping bag makes filling the tubes far less messy and more even than a spoon.
- If using dried tubes, make sure the sauce fully covers them so they have enough liquid to soften while baking.
- Let the filling cool before stuffing — hot filling can tear delicate fresh pasta sheets.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Overfilling the tubes, causing them to split open during baking.
- Not covering dried tubes adequately with sauce, leaving them hard and undercooked in spots.
- Skipping the rest time, making the dish difficult to portion cleanly.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- A good source of protein and calcium.
- Best enjoyed as a hearty main given its richness.
Cultural Note
Cannelloni is a popular special-occasion and Sunday lunch dish across Italy, valued for the elegant presentation of individually stuffed tubes compared to the layered simplicity of lasagna.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze baked or unbaked for up to 2 months.
Reheating: Reheat covered in a 180°C (350°F) oven for 20–25 minutes until warmed through.
Serve with: A simple green salad, Crusty bread, A medium-bodied red wine